Actor Jim Parsons may have wanted to move beyond The Big Bang Theory given the stunning announcement that he turned down millions of dollars to sign up for Season 13, but his passion for television obviously hasn’t left him. It seems that he is currently developing a new multi-camera sitcom (which is the kind shot in front of a live audience) called The Inn Crowd. 

Designed for NBC, the focus of the show will be on a gay couple running a small town resort, and it’s inspired by an article in The New Yorker written by Tony Horwitz. That piece discussed the controversy surrounding the Inn at Little Washington — owned by Patrick O’Connell and Reinhardt Lunch — in Rappahannock County, VA. According to comingsoon.net, “while their inn attracted big-name celebrities, many opposed the duo’s ambitious expansion plans. Like the article, The Inn Crowd will also look at how the gay couple’s resort creates a divide in the small town where they live.”

jim-parsons
CBS

In a Zagat.com article called “10 Brutal Restaurant Breakups,” the situation between Patrick and Reinhardt was summed up this way: “In 1978, self-taught chef Patrick O’Connell and his romantic partner, Reinhardt Lynch, purchased an old, Virginia garage about an hour outside of Washington DC and transformed it into, by many accounts, one of the country’s best restaurants. Lynch ran the front-of-the-house at what would become a lavish inn, while O’Connell’s cuisine continually earned raves. When Lynch and O’Connell’s relationship soured nearly 30 years later, however, so did their professional partnership. The lawsuit made headlines, and after prolonged litigation, O’Connell, who has come to be known as ‘The Pope of American Cuisine’, walked away as sole owner of the inn in 2008.” We’re going to assume the sitcom version will go in a funnier direction.

Jim, who is not going to star in the show, serves as executive producer with Young & Hungry’s David Holden and Todd Spiewak. He also currently serves as a producer on the Big Bang prequel series Young Sheldon.